Share

Share

The new digital magazine to be launched by Matt Taibbi as part of First Look Media today announced that Elspeth “Elle” Reeve and Jonathan Schwarz will join in senior positions. As a senior writer Reeve will work with Taibbi and executive editor Alex Pareene to help build the digital magazine. Schwarz will be responsible for helping reporters to conceive, design and produce original content.

Reeve, political editor of the The Wire (formerly known as Atlantic Wire) is known for her wry, offbeat writing style and her entertaining posts on everything from the Olympics to Chris Christie. In addition to her work at the Atlantic’s popular sister site, Reeve has worked as a reporter and blogger at a number of outlets including the New Republic, the Daily Beast, and the Center for Public Integrity.

Schwarz joins First Look having most recently served as editor for MichaelMoore.com. He has contributed to the New Yorker, New York Times, Atlantic, Mother Jones, Slate, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Huffington Post, National Public Radio and Saturday Night Live, and is co-author of a humor collection, Our Kampf. Schwarz was a longtime producer for Michael Moore’s Dog Eat Dog Films and was Research Producer on Moore’s 2009 movie Capitalism: A Love Story. In 2003 Schwarz made and collected on a $1000 bet that Iraq would be found to have no weapons of mass destruction.

“The digital journalists of today must be skilled at engaging audiences in addition to developing sources and writing stories. They need to have a personality and strong opinions as well as the right content,” said Matt Taibbi, founding editor of First Look Media’s new publication focused on financial and political corruption. “Jonathan and Elle will bring clear voices, great insights and a great sense of humor to our work. We’re thrilled that they are both founding members of our team.”

“I’m excited to be joining writers I’ve long admired on this innovative and inventive new media project,” said Reeve.

“This is a great team coming together to write some of the most important stories of our time and I’m thrilled to help be building it from the ground up,” said Schwarz.

Schwarz joined the organization in May and is based in Washington D.C.. Reeve will join in mid-June and will be based in New York City.

The name and launch date of the digital magazine will be announced in the coming months. The project will bring a satirical approach to coverage of American politics and culture. First Look Media’s initial online publication, The Intercept, led by Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill launched on February 10.